(The Center Square) – With federal funding at stake, Senate Democrats in the Washington State Legislature passed a bill Thursday that expands protected classes in schools to include immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity and more.
Thursday’s floor vote sent Substitute Senate Bill 5123 to the Washington State House of Representatives; if approved, it will expand antidiscrimination protections in public schools. The move comes as President Donald Trump threatens to pull federal funding for states refusing to follow his lead.
Trump has issued several executive orders targeting states that support transgender athletes and provide gender-affirming care for minors. While a judge has blocked those, state lawmakers are split over the conflict with federal regulations and the risk it poses to education funding.
“Our antidiscrimination law for public schools, written in 2010, no longer reflects a growing understanding of identity and inclusion,” Sen. T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, said Thursday.
Her bill would add several protected classes, including ethnicity, homelessness, immigration or citizenship status and neurodivergence, such as autism and ADHD. The proposal also adds three more, separating sexual orientation, gender expression and identity into different classes.
Nobles argued that “these gaps” impact students’ ability to succeed. She said passing SB 5123 could lead to higher academic performance while protecting all learning environments.
“This bill is not about ideology,” she said, “just clarity and equal protection.”
Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, said his party completely disagreed before the Republicans unanimously opposed SB 5123. McCune said diversity, equity and inclusion policies and gender ideology “have infiltrated our government” as Trump pushes to end the programs nationwide.
He argued it strips local control from school boards while pitting parents against teachers. Test scores are dropping nationwide as some states push to codify former President Joe Biden’s policies. McCune wants the Legislature to focus on academics rather than gender ideology.
Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, compared SB 5123 to a small dog picking a fight with a bigger one without considering the consequences.
“I have this cute as a button dog … and we’ll go out for a walk, and he’ll occasionally go up to a big dog and start barking,” Christian said. “Then, as soon as the big dog starts to look at him, he runs between my legs and stands there.”
He said SB 5123 picks a fight with the Trump administration and “spits in the eye” of the federal government, “daring them to take away the funding of our schools.”
Other Democrats rose in support of the legislation, advocating for the new classes as refugees flow into their communities from war-torn countries. Washington is also grappling with a housing crisis that’s left tens of thousands of people homeless across the state, many of whom are kids.
“How many more categories are we going to add?” said Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn. “This doesn’t do anything to end discrimination. It just creates a new situation where people are then going to be categorized.”
